The precious metals sector of the commodities market posted an overall gain in the fourth quarter of 2018 thanks to increases in the prices of palladium and gold.

The composite of the four precious metals that trade on the COMEX and NYMEX divisions of the CME dropped by 8.10% in 2014. The sector fell by 19.46% in 2015, but in 2016, precious metals gained 11.71 %. Precious metals moved 20.19% higher in 2017 posting its second consecutive annual gain. In Q4 2018, the sector moved 5.49% higher led by palladium, gold, and silver while platinum prices moved to the downside. The sector rallied even though the US dollar index rose by 1.05% over the three-month period. For the year ending on December 31, 2018, the precious metals sector was 3.46% lower as the dollar rose by 4.26% on the year. Palladium cushioned the loss in the sector for 2018.